Number Scramble
The setup
Roll one die twice to create a two-digit target number – the first roll will be the tens digit and the second roll the ones digit. Roll five dice to create numbers to work with.
The challenge
Use addition, subtraction, and forming two-digit numbers to get as close as possible to the target number – the score is how close they come.
How to win
You can either have a winner for each round, or you can add up the scores over several rounds and have an overall winner with the lowest score. Of course, you can play it for the challenge and not keep score.
Examples
Example 1: Suppose the roll is: 4, 4, 3, 1, 3 and 22. The first player gets 4 + 4 + 3 + 1 + 3 = 15; another player gets 14 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 24; and another player gets 34 – 14 + 3 = 23.
Example 2: Suppose the roll is: 1, 2, 5, 6, 4 and 63. A player gets close with 65 – 4 + 2 + 1 = 64. Another one gets it exactly with 56 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 63. A third says 52 + 6 + 4 + 1 = 63 also works. Have a chat about why some problems have lots of solutions.